Kommandittselskap

Kommandittselskap or KS is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

type of company. The company is owned by two types of entities; the ''komplementar'', who holds

unlimited liability An unlimited company or private unlimited company is a hybrid company (corporation) incorporated with or without a share capital (and similar to its limited company counterpart) but where the legal liability of the members or shareholders is not ...

, and one or more ''komandittist'' who hold

limited liability Limited liability is a legal status in which a person's financial liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a corporation, company or partnership. If a company that provides limited liability to it ...

. The company type is thus a middle form between a limited and unlimited company. The ''komplementar'' can be, and often is, a limited liability company, which indirectly and in practice will limit the liability for the ultimate owner(s) of the ''komplementar''. Each ''komandittist'' must pay equity of NOK 20,000, of which 20% must be paid before the registration at Brønnøysund Register Centre. The ''komplementar'' must supply at least 10% of the total equity.

Dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-i ...

is paid out in proportion to the supplied equity, unless otherwise agreed upon. Taxation of a KS follows the same rules as taxation from an ansvarlig selskap (unlimited company, ANS), so there is no

double taxation Double taxation is the levying of tax by two or more jurisdictions on the same income (in the case of income taxes), asset (in the case of capital taxes), or financial transaction (in the case of sales taxes). Double liability may be mitigated in ...

. KS's must be

audited An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...

and submit their accounts to the authorities. Of tax reasons, the company was quite popular in the 1980s, but after changes in the

tax law Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...

most of the advantages disappeared. After this the company form is mainly used for

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

investment collaborations. Types of companies of Norway {{Norway-company-stub